Best of the Week 2020-2021: Holy Cross Values

ST. ED'S CONTINUES HOLIDAY TRADITION WITH VIRTUAL GIVING TREE

This Christmas season, St. Ed's continues its annual Giving Tree tradition but with a virtual accommodation to increase availability to those who'd like to participate. This year's Virtual Giving Tree will benefit the 30th Annual Homeless Stand Down - an event serving the homeless population of Greater Cleveland. Previously coordinated by HandsOn Northeast Ohio, this year's Virtual Giving Tree, led by Business Volunteers Unlimited, will put together Cleveland Care Packages to distribute to people experiencing homelessness in Cleveland. Items from St. Ed's Virtual Giving Tree will help supply a variety of items, from jackets and face masks to personal hygiene products, to include in these care packages. Care for those experiencing homelessness has always been close to the heart of St. Edward High School, especially our Labre ministry. Although this year has presented challenges for how to best and safely help those experiencing homelessness, St. Ed's ministry has maintained its commitment to service and devotion to living out this year's theme, "Side by Side" in more innovative ways. "The pandemic has created a lot of challenges for so many, and as a result, we have had to change the way we operate all of our programs. And while a lot of these changes are temporary, they have also offered us a chance to rethink the way we do things, and sometimes those changes end up for the better," says VP of Mission Effectiveness Liam Haggerty '02. "Our Virtual Giving Tree is a great example of this. This longtime holiday tradition at St. Ed's transformed to a virtual format to limit contact and encourage many more community members to participate in the cause. Through the network of students, parents, extended families as well as alumni, locally and across the globe, all members of our community have been able to help out and donations for the Virtual Giving Tree keep pouring in! Everyday a new stack of packages is delivered to my office, all items that we will pass on to the Homeless Stand Down to help individuals experiencing homelessness in our community." Click here to take a look at the "ornaments" on this year's Virtual Giving Tree and see how you can help us help the homeless in Cleveland and our communities.